If Then
by kalaway7
Summary: If Remus and Tonks had lived then how would their family have grown? What challenges would they have to deal with?


"Grampa Ted said that my roar's better'n Livy's, Daddy!" Leo crowed as he raced across the sitting room with his red overnight bag strapped to his back.

"Did he? Well, you've got the name advantage, so you can't be too hard on her," Remus smiled softly, snatching the 3 year old up into his arms. He watched Livy shuffle in slowly--her eyes wide and her book clutched to her chest--definitely not looking up to roaring.

Grandpa Ted followed with his hand on Teddy's shoulder, "We'd be happy to keep them for another night Remus. I know you must be--"

"No, it's good for them to be home, and the healers say they'll only be another day or so in St. Mungo's. You and Andy have done more than enough." Remus raised his hand to stroke Livy's blonde curls and watched Teddy flop onto the couch without saying a word, his hair black as soot.

"Andy's staying with Dora tonight, so be sure to get some sleep, yeah?" Ted advised in a fatherly manner. Nodding Remus sighed and thanked Ted again as he showed him back to the flew.

Returning to the quiet sitting room, he settled himself into his patched arm chair, with Leo on his lap and forced a smile to his face, "Did you have fun with Grandma and Grandpa?"

Livy came over to sit beside her father in his big chair and snuggled up to his side. They all sat quietly for a moment before Livy broke the silence. "Are Mummy and baby Johnny gonna be alright?" she asked hesitantly.

Teddy raised questioning black eyes to his father, looking desperate for a real answer. Remus knew they probably had gotten little more than vague comments that things weren't quite right, and they deserved an explanation. "Mum's just fine. They kept her at the hospital to make sure that her blood was okay and to see if she could help the baby if they put special medicine in her milk." He looked from face to face, and hugged Leo closer to him.

"Johnny...well, Johnny," he stopped and took a deep breath, starting again slowly. "When your mummy and I got married I wasn't sure we could have kids because I thought my being a werewolf might hurt our kids or change them. Your Uncle Harry convinced me that I was just being silly, and I'm glad he did because without him I'd have never met Teddy and Olivia and Leo," he said, squeezing Leo's knee and putting his arm around Livy.

"All three of you were fine and we thought...well, we thought it wasn't a problem. But a few days ago, when Johnny was born, the healer noticed that he had yellowish eyes like I do."

Teddy made a small gasping noise and Livy stiffened beside him. Remus gulped, knowing the older kids had already realized what this might mean.

"The healers tested Johnny's blood, and it turns out that he's a werewolf like me," he said, trying to control the tremor in his voice. Livy looked from her Dad to Teddy and back again, nervously picking at the corner of her book.

"They've never seen an infant--a baby, that had werewolf blood, and they didn't know if Johnny could take the same medicine that I do." He cleared his throat, "Also, there are some people in the government who think that werewolves are completely bad, and those people thought that the healers shouldn't even try to help Johnny."

Leo squirmed in his daddy's lap, clearly restless in the tense room, but he kept uncharacteristically quiet. "Uncle Harry and I and lots of our family have been doing our best the last few days to make sure Johnny is safe. Aunt Hermione is doing all she can to find a potion that Johnny can take, and Uncle Bill's been working on making a better place where we can go--"

His voice broke and he ran his hand across his face. Teddy stood up and came to lean against his dad's legs. Remus took a deep breath and continued, "--where Johnny and I can go on the full moon, so I can h-help him."

Leo turned and peered into his Remus' eyes, worry etched into his little face. Livy was grasping her father's hand now, book forgotten, "But he'll be okay, right? Every time, you're okay. It just hurts a little."

Unconsciously Remus winced a bit, but nodded, "I think so. Everybody's doing their best to make sure, honey."

"But they know werewolves can be good because they've met you, Dad. They can't keep us from helping Johnny! That's not fair," Teddy whined in a scared voice.

"No, it's not fair. You're right, and Mr. Weasley, Professor McGonagall, Uncle Ron, and everybody is making sure that they can't keep us from helping him," Remus said firmly, looking into his sons eyes.

Turning in his father's arms, Leo said confidently, "Johnny's going to be a nice werewolf like you Daddy." And he changing his eyes to gold to match his father's.

Remus patted his brown curls and smiled at him as Teddy piped in, "Yes, he will! Johnny will be a very nice werewolf, Leo. We'll make sure!" And he too turned his eyes and hair to match his father's. He even copied the white gashes that ran across the werewolf's cheeks as he stood proudly before them.

Remus felt his own eyes fog with tears, and he pulled his oldest son down to kiss his forehead. "Yes! You're right! With such a great family, he's bound to be great!" He patted Teddy's shoulder and smiled warmly at his children. "We'll go see Mummy and Johnny tomorrow so we better get to bed."

"I think Johnny can win at roaring, Daddy," Leo said seriously. Livy and Teddy giggled while Remus let out a laughing sob, ruffling his son's hair, "I think so Leo. I think so."


End file.
